This Week in Canadian Jewish Advocacy, April 23, 2023
This week, we honoured the memory of the six million Jews who died in the Shoah, reflected on crucial lessons from the Holocaust that remain relevant today, and recognized the vital role of education in combating hate.
Read on to learn more.
The CIJA Team
Hundreds of Canadians attended a Yom HaShoah commemoration at The National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa to honour the victims and Survivors of the Shoah, reflect on the tragedy of the Holocaust, and renew our commitment to combating antisemitism.
Present at this solemn ceremony were senior diplomats, party leaders, cabinet ministers, senators, members of parliament from all parties, inter-faith leaders, and more than 200 students from local schools.
The ceremony concluded with a candle-lighting ceremony led by six Holocaust Survivors.
WATCH NOW
On behalf of Canada’s Jewish community, we would like to thank all dignitaries and elected officials from across Canada, including the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, provincial premiers, and elected officials from all levels of government, who recognized Yom HaShoah.
CIJA Vice President Richard Marceau reflects on recent investment by the Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta governments in programs and institutions that aim to raise awareness about and combat antisemitism while emphasizing the dire needs for both mandatory Holocaust education in schools and an efficient national strategy to combat online hate of all kinds.
Learn More
Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, Irwin Cotler, offers twelve lessons we can take from the Holocaust that are searingly relevant today.
Learn More
CIJA in the News
- Federal budget increases spending for security infrastructure program and anti-racism initiatives (The CJN)
- CIJA: Where Are We Today? Let’s Take Stock. (The Alberta Jewish News)
- Ottawa Playbook – Paper Trail (Politico)
- Liberal MP slams own government's statements on Israel (CTV News, + Canadian Press Syndication)
- Une députée libérale fédérale critique la tiédeur de la réaction d'Ottawa sur Israël (La Presse Canadienne)
- Politics This Morning: Kenny Chiu has his say (The Hill Times)
- Réplique : Conflit israélo-palestinien | Incompréhension ou mauvaise foi ? (La Presse)
- Why a debate over how to define anti-Semitism has reached the United Nations (Toronto Star)
- Why has the Jewish diaspora reacted so strongly to Israel’s proposed judicial reforms? (The Hub)
- Ottawa Playbook - Friends with trip benefits:(Politico)
- 'Display of Bigotry': City Councillor, Groups Say Antisemitism Should Be Condemned After Toronto Rally (Epoch Times)
- Holocaust and Genocide Education is the Best Medicine Against Hate (Times of Israel)
- Doorstep Postings: The state of official reactions in Toronto to the diminishing protests on Al-Quds Day—with the added backdrop of a mayoral race (The CJN)
- Yom HaShoah Commemoration Service in Ottawa (CPAC)
- EFC President Attending Yom HaShoah Ceremony Today (The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada Update Newsletter)
- Education groups to develop phone app for National Holocaust Monument (Ottawa Citizen, + Postmedia Syndication) - **Andrea Freedman quoted
- Man sentenced for antisemitic incidents in Côte-St-Luc (Montreal Gazette)
- Douglas Todd: Canadian Indigenous spirituality anything but monolithic (Vancouver Sun, + Postmedia Syndication)
- Second man sentenced in 2021 CSL antisemitic (The Suburban)
Community Calendar
April 24-25 | Yom HaZikaron
April 25-26 | Yom Ha’atzmaut
May 25-27 | Shavuot
Careers
Stay In the Know!
Get all the latest information from our newsletter, "This Week in Canadian Jewish Advocacy."
